


The Team

by ARSONjST



Series: Call Me a Traitor, But I Chose to Run. [1]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Medical Procedures, Niki acts like a mom, Runaway AU, Takes place after the festival, Tommy really hates everything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:56:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27544960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ARSONjST/pseuds/ARSONjST
Summary: They'd call him a traitor anyway, but he knew he needed to keep his friends safe. No matter what he has to do.Tommy has to make a tough call, but he knows it's the right choice at the end of the day. As long as he gets to see his friends bloody faces actually smile for once.
Series: Call Me a Traitor, But I Chose to Run. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2013436
Comments: 3
Kudos: 95





	The Team

**Author's Note:**

> quick tw for medicine, talks of running away, and injuries

Tommy couldn't even count the things that had happened to him on his fingers. Tubbo had shown him the discs, the button was gone, Wilbur was going mad, Techno had betrayed them, Schlatt knew everything, no one had helped them, and Niki had gotten caught up in the mess. It had been days since he had watched Tubbo's execution. Days since the echo of the fireworks faded. Days since he fought Technoblade in that pit, the fire of pure anger fueling his moves. He had stood on the roof with Wilbur only hours ago, feeling a rush of anger as Schlatt found the fine print. And now there were traitors among them. Traitors among the most powerful group on the server as of right now.

He leaned back against the stone wall in Pogtopia's ravine in an area he had cleared the buttons from. He let his mind wander, back to a day where he felt perfectly at ease even with the swirling tornado of emotions in his heart.

* * *

_So what was I supposed to do?_ He thought, leaning against the jukebox and feeling the vibrations of the music. Tubbo sat behind him, up against a tree with Niki, who worked at mending his burns and cuts from the fireworks. Tommy wiped his bloody nose on his sleeve, curling his pained knuckles against the grass.

"We gotta stick together. I know we already agreed on that but now we have to." Tommy says, glancing behind him at the other two. They both look at him confused but don't say anything, so he continues, "we can't trust Wilbur or Technoblade. That was shown today. So we need to get away, as quickly as we can."

"I agree with you, but what about Tubbo's wounds, Tommy?" Niki cuts the end of a wrap of bandages and tenderly tucks it into the rest around Tubbo's chest. Tommy tries to ignore the blood that already starts to soak it despite his stitches, "It's evident he's in no state to be running off now. He's going to need _weeks_ to recover!"

"Can I ride horseback with these injuries, Niki? I have a horse we can use..." Tubbo trails off, watching past Tommy at the ends of the sunset. He looks so tired, Tommy feels a weight settle in his chest as he looks away from the sight of his best friend wounded and dazed.

Tommy restarts the disc and rises towards the sunrise, feeling it heat his skin as it draws him in like a siren's call for a few seconds, then he sighs, turning to face his friends, "I can use the tunnels to find your horse and whatever supplies you have in your bunker... then we can bring it all to Pogtopia and tell Wilbur we're keeping it here for safekeeping. Then, once Tubbo is healed enough, we put him on the horse and get the fuck out of here."

"That's not a bad plan... most of Tubbo's burns are on his upper body... it'll only take me a few days to patch up your guy's clothing... I'd say the earliest we can be out of here would be by the weekend? That's pushing it though... and it'll come down to how quickly Tubbo can heal up." Niki suggests, moving to patch part of Tubbo's face. He grins softly.

"If everything works out, that's the plan," Tommy says, running a hand through his hair. Niki rubs some medicine on Tubbo's wound that makes him flinch but he doesn't say anything at first.

"Let's just stay together, no matter what. We know we can trust each other, we know people are going to break out in fights here soon. I just... don't have any energy to be angry anymore. I wanna leave." Tubbo closes his eyes as Niki continues to clean up his wound. Tommy can see a shift in her face, he knows it hurts her heart to see Tubbo this way. His usual bounce and sparkle are gone, leaving a shell of what once was. Tommy looks away, towards where the colors of the sky are going from a stunning orangey gold to a darkened black and starts to hum along to the end of Mellohi.

* * *

It was around 7 pm when Tommy took to the tunnels. Kneeling on the wooden path, he managed to easily carve out the rocks they had used the hide Tubbo's tunnels. Getting up, he dusted off his busted up jeans and grabbed the empty bags in his hand. Checking to make sure his diamond sword was still strapped to his hip, he started to rush down the endless halls as quickly as he could. This was riskier now that the tunnels were known areas, so he had to be sharp. _It should be easy_ , he tells himself, _it should be in and out._

"Tommy!" _Oh god fucking damn it_. He turns, readying a sword. But the man in front of him doesn't raise one of his own. He doesn't seem hostile, he seems frightened.

"Vice President Quackity?" Tommy questions. The decorums feel odd to say, but he'd rather not get in a sword fight right now.

"Tommy I— I quit!" Quackity chuckles, almost sounding like Wilbur for a second before he breathes in and his speech steadies, "Tommy. I want to assist Pogtopia. I'm so fucking sick of Schlatt, I can't believe he just— ugh!"

Tommy is truly astonished to see the other so unkempt. Sighing, Tommy lowers his sword, adjusting the bags on his back. There isn't a good way to judge if Quackity is being honest to him nor does Tommy care to investigate it. He thinks he's going to be out of Pogtopia in the morning, it doesn't matter to him.

"Fine, Big Q, be my guest. Just help me get some supplies from Tubbo's old bunker." Tommy hands him a bag and Quackity nods, seemingly aghast at Tommy's immediate trust. But he doesn't question it as he follows Tommy to the bunker. It feels odd to walk here again, but Tommy knows he has to clear the bunker before Schlatt can. The books in there are sacred, who knows what a tyrannous leader (who wishes to terminate the past of his country) would do with them.

"Quackity. Go get all the supplies from the chests upstairs, grab the bed and dismantle it. Bring the horse into the tunnel." Tommy motions towards the area and Quackity nods promptly, before running off to go do as he was asked. Tommy murmurs and makes his way to where the books are kept, Tubbo had only shown him the room once, so he hoped he found the right room. He knocked down the wood under the stairs, keeping an ear open for Quackity and any other intruders.

"Here we are." He muttered, his eyes faded as he entered the room. He carelessly grabbed the books and rammed them (as neatly as he could, which wasn't very neat) in the bag. After that, he swung it over his shoulder and began to make his way out. _I really should burn this place to the ground_ , his mind tells him. He pauses at the base of the stairs as he ponders the idea. No one would find it then, but they'd already taken everything out, so it didn't matter, right?

"Tommy, you ready to go?" Quackity questions, trying to steady the horse that wants nothing to do with him. Maybe he shouldn't commit mass arson in front of Quackity. He also shouldn't burn Tubbo's property without his written permission, in case Dream requires it. He can always have someone else burn it all down later.

"Yeah, and give me the horse." Tommy trudges up the stairs and seizes the reigns, gently rubbing the horse's head as it bumps against his shoulder. He leads the horse out to the tunnels, motioning for Quackity to stand behind him for a second while he patches up the wall using some planks. It's efficient at blocking off Tubbo's house, even though that probably won't stop Manburg. Grabbing the reins, Tommy begins to walk off, telling Quackity to follow him with a small nod. Quackity walks wordlessly on the other side of the horse, the bags weighing him down a bit. Tommy doesn't say anything, he doesn't want to, he doesn't even know what he's supposed to say.

After a bit of walking they turn a corner that Tommy had to dig out to get to the paths, he and Quackity go through first before the horse does, so they don't get kicked if something goes wrong. Tommy realizes Quackity hasn't seen this part of the tunnels yet, and he smiles a bit to himself, "Hey, can you close up that hole? We're _trying_ to keep Schlatt from finding Pogtopia."

"Yeah! Yeah yeah, I got it." Quackity turns back, kneeling and starting to shift some of the rocks back into place. Tommy takes the bags he's set down and ties them on either side of the horse's saddle as a makeshift holder, turning back to look at Quackity he notices the other is still donned in his Manburg attire. It makes Tommy feel uncomfortable for a moment, but he shakes it off.

Quackity finishes quicker than Tommy thought he would, and the two finish up the trip to the minute ravine where Pogtopia hid. Niki darted her head out from behind a rock and prepared an arrow at the (former?) Manburg Vice President, Tommy quickly waves her off, not wanting trouble.

"Where's Wilbur? Quackity wants to join." He asks, approaching Niki. Quackity follows like a lost puppy, shuffling his feet somewhat as he looks down.

"By the farm, I think." She keeps her crossbow loaded but doesn't fire. Tommy nods at Niki, who takes the horse's reigns before heading off into a side room she'd made for Tubbo the day after the festival. Tommy guides Quackity towards the stone door to the farm and slowly steps on the pressure plate. The door slides open with a loud thud and Wilbur glances over from where he's standing with Techno.

"Wilbur," Tommy's voice is even, "Quackity wants to join."

Wilbur nods and beckons Quackity in. Before Wilbur can say anything to Tommy, he turns, immediately leaving the area and going to the side room with Niki and Tubbo. The two had clearly been mid-conversation as Niki was laughing as she began to divvy up the supplies in the bags into their chests.

"So when are we ready to leave?" Tommy whispered, lying next to Tubbo on his bed. Tubbo smiled down at him, his bandages had just been removed to allow the burns to breathe a bit. The skin there is red, slightly yellow, rough-looking, and bubbly. It still makes Tommy sick to his stomach, but Tubbo's wide smile makes Tommy think the boy doesn't even mind the wounds.

"Actually, Tommy, we need to push this back..." Niki says softly, inspecting some of Tubbo's burns, "He's not healing fast enough to leave this week, I'm not even sure if he'll be ready by next week."

"How long do burns take to heal, Niki?" Tommy asks, keeping his voice level. He can't show Tubbo he's a bit upset that they can't leave because then Tubbo will blame himself. Even though Tommy often messes with Tubbo, he doesn't want to genuinely see him upset.

"It could take a few more weeks... but with his level of burns and how many potions he's going to need to take... we have to be careful, we can't overdose him." Niki hums, "I can make about five potions as of right now, but we can only give him one every six hours."

"You have the ingredients?" Tubbo asks, "but you've barely left my side.."

Niki giggles softly, walking over to the crafting table and opening the screen, beginning to put in some cobblestone down, "That you've seen. Techno gave me some nether wart and glistening melon last night, I fixed up his ax in exchange for the ingredients."

"What about the bottles and blaze powder?" Tommy asks, leaning on his side and watching as Niki begins to craft... something.

"Tommy, I need you to go in the nether and get some blaze powder, if you can." Niki motions to a chest, "I have your supplies and some glass bottles in there if you could please try? You can bring someone with you, I don't mind, I just need the blaze powder for Tubbo."

"The Nether is free-range right?" Tommy asks, opening one of the chests in the room and rustling through it before lifting a thick jacket Niki had fixed up for him. It's an old, beat up, navy blue jacket from L'Manburg. Niki had made it for him originally, it still fit like a glove years later. Niki nodded in response to his question as she set down a brewing stand.

"Thanks, Niki." Tommy grinned and Tubbo stirred in the blanket as he shivered. Niki looked back and smiled softly, but didn't say anything as she grabbed a log and tossed it into the fire nearby them. The ravine was always cold, it just seemed to get colder and colder as the days went on. Tommy was warm enough in his long sleeve shirt and jeans, so he gently draped the jacket across Tubbo's shoulders. Tubbo murmurs a soft thanks and curls up in it _._

Niki sits on the bed and sighs, leaning back before looking over at Tommy, "Techno made mashed potatoes for dinner, unsurprisingly, I have some mutton to go with it if you want. Eat up before you leave." Niki handed the two teens bowls chock full of food and took her own. She pretended not to notice how hers had less than the others. Tommy noticed but didn't say anything.

"He always makes the same things," Tubbo grumbled, lightly taking a spoonful into his mouth. Tommy agreed.

"I probably won't eat all this, maybe you two can split what I don't eat," Tommy stated, pushing around the mush until he decided it was decent enough to actually eat. The three sat on the bed in silence, eating the limited food they'd have for the night. Niki finished her dish first, then Tommy handed her his leftovers after a short back and forth. Tommy laid back on the bed again, directly next to Tubbo to try and keep him warm. Niki sat a bit closer as a breeze ran through the cave.

A while later, there was a delicate tap on the stone of the room, three equal taps almost like a knock. Tommy and Niki both stood, out of instinct to run or fight whoever was there. Tubbo slowed his eating, but when he recognized who it was, he continued.

"Blade?" Tommy walked over to be beside Niki, who gently sat on the bed again.

"Here." He held out a big bag to Tommy, who took it and promptly set it on the floor to open it. Techno took a few steps back, resting his hand on the doorway as Tommy pulled out supplies.

"Blade..? Why did you give us this stuff?" Niki asked, looking down at food, coal, ores, some armor, and tools.

"I... I feel like it's right to help you leave. Since everything that happened at the Festival. I have emotions, I know, a rare sight." Techno looks away with a laugh, even as his lips frown. After a moment, he drags down the pig mask from his face to look Tommy properly in the eyes. It's odd to see the scars that he hides, across his nose and his eye, Tommy tries to not flinch at the sight, "be safe you three, alright? Wilbur doesn't know you're leaving yet, try and keep it that way. I'll cover for you until you're gone."

"We will be. Don't worry, and thank you so much Technoblade." Niki grins, and Techno nods goodbye and leaves silently as he slides his mask back up. The three look at each other in bewilderment but take the supplies without question. Niki gets up, taking the bag to distribute the supplies into chests again. Tubbo finishes his food and hands his empty bowl to Tommy.

"I'll go wash them out really quick, then suit up." Tommy stands and leaves the room. Walking down the ravine he finds a small waterfall he uses to wash off the remnants of the meal. He also cups a bit to drink in his hands, before filling a bowl up to bring back to the room for Tubbo, and a bowl for Niki. As he walks back, some torches near where Wilbur sleeps go out. Techno's stay on, however. Tommy doesn't bat an eye to it as he slips into the side room again. He hands the bowl to Tubbo, who quickly gulps the majority of it down. Niki drinks about half before setting hers aside. Checking a clock on the wall Tommy noticed it was around ten at night. It made sense for Wilbur to be going to sleep at this time. He turned, looking to his side at Tubbo, who was already starting to nod off. 

"I'll go through the rest of the supplies and ration it out equally." Niki says softly, "have fun fighting blazes Tommy,"

"I won't." Tommy teases, kneeling to grab his armor and slip it on. It's mostly iron armor with a diamond chest plate. It's not enchanted, as Tommy doesn't like reading all those books and such to get the knowledge to enchant. He just wants to run in and bash things, armor helps him not die immediately.

"Be careful Tommy," Tubbo says from his bed, peeking over the edge of his blanket like a toddler. His eyes are nearly closed and his voice is distant, he'd nearly asleep. 

"I'll be careful, I promise." Tommy nods to him.


End file.
